A look at the Home Office response to Covid 19 and where it leaves Migrants in the UK and those wanting to come the UK
The Home Office response to the coronavirus crisis has been slow and unclear at best. They acted quickly in shutting all visa centres across the world thereby putting a stop to applications being processed, but guidance for migrants who have already made applications and about to make applications, were left very unclear on what to do next.
As Home office guidance started to drip through, it often left more questions than giving answers and representatives were left seriously deficient of clear guidance during often chaotic communications. The Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association stepped in to assist in clarification and remains an on-going project dealing with UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) seeking guidance and clarification, whilst we scramble to make sense out of the chaos that is ensuing around us on a daily basis.
Looking at the wider picture, the pandemic has far deeper consequences for migrants than just being in lockdown or unable to travel and join family.
Many unauthorised / illegal migrants are themselves in considerable danger from infection and possibly even more vulnerable due to many being destitute or often living in substandard or shared accommodation with no access to healthcare. Many would have been working illegally or in dodgy workplaces until they got shut down, with no access to furlough or any entitlement to benefit, leaving them in an utterly desperate situation. Not only desperate to survive financially but with the added danger of falling ill and if the latter, spreading the virus to those they are in contact with, which is often those at greatest risk already, the minority ethnic communities.
Immigration law in the UK, under the leadership of Theresa May, in 2012, created the now well-known hostile environment for migrants in the UK, intended to deprive unauthorised migrants of the most basic needs in an attempt to force them out of the UK. There is no evidence that the hostile environment succeeded in forcing anyone to leave, but created a large, vulnerable, exploitable, marginalised, destitute unauthorised migrant population living in the shadows. This hostile environment sadly also catches unintended victims and even lawful residents. Examples are failed asylum seekers managing to convince UKVI or the Court many years after they have been wrongly refused and after years of struggling to obtain proof, or those caught up in the Windrush scandal. Whilst Covid-19 guidance now states that anyone, is entitled to free emergency medical care, there is plenty of evidence that this large group of unauthorised migrants fear the authorities due to this hostile environment that they live in and would rather go untreated than risk making themselves known and facing enforced removal.
So, when the Home Office guidance states that no one making an immigration application will be prejudiced by Covid 19, can switch in country, will extend their visas automatically and will be reasonable, immigration lawyers are naturally cautious to accept such easily-reversible statements. Experience has proven that we cannot trust a government that is hostile to migrants and a website that changes almost daily, and importantly leaving no trace of guidance issued the day before.
For help on immigration matters, please speak to Andre or Melissa a.minnaar@sydneymitchell.co.uk or m.southall@sydneymitchell.co.uk or call 0808 166 8827.
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